The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-11-16
Like a Green Bay-Tree.
BY JOHN STRANGE WINTER.

They were young, rich, of good po-
sition, birth, appearance; they lived in
lovely old house, the grounds of
which were "lald out in ruins" rs Mrs.
Hunter was so anxious to have hers;
they were clever, undeniably so; they
were both red-hot Radicals, though
husband and wife had alike come of
stanch Conservative families, but as
Eustace Vane was accustomed to re-
mark, when the circumstance was no.
ticed, 1--WE are wiser than our fathers"
Those who remembered old Squire
Vane and the present Mrs. Vane's father
William Lotus, rector of Vanedene, a
village about three miles west of Gar
Hampton. were of opinion that Eus-
tace Vane was wrong in saying so; but,
of course wisdom must be more or less
IL matter of opinion and Eustace Vane,
like any other man in this free and en-
lightened land of Liberty, was able to
hold what opinions he chose upon that
subject, MS upon any other.
But it was not on account of their
political opinions that the Garthampton
folks likened the Vanes, of Vanedene,
to the ungodly, who, as the Book says,
flourish like n green bay-tree, but be-
cause, as a few outspoken ones graph
ically put it, they beheUed IN nothing.
They had been married more than
five years at the time when our story
begins. Of their political opinions
they made no secret, neither did they
or their utter absense of religious ones.
They simply had none: they believed
in nothing, hoped for nothing, looked
for nottingham was all.
To such people as attempted to argue
with them they were perfectly civil and
friendly. They said, 1T is very kind
of you 10 try and convince us of the
truth of your religious views, but
we don't believe in the world to come;
we don't believe in the resurrection of
the dead, life after death; we don't be-
lieve in heaven, or in the divine truth
of the Bible, nor yet in the story of the
gospel. 1t is all very pretty. If you
find pleasure and comfort therein we
have no wish to deprive you of it. We
don't want you to be of our way of
thinking; we don wish to be unfriend-
ly about it. We merely wish to be left
alone in our belief, which is in this life
present and nothing else. We don't 60
TO church because we don't believe in
God, and we are not hypocrites. We
don't sit all Sunday with our hands
folded, because we believe the Sabbath |
is an institution found by long exper-
fence to be necessary for the well-being |
of people. We have no desire to
hinder you from your way, nor to make
you go ours-we only want to be left
alone"
So, at length left alone on religious
subjects they WERE Only one lady,
having vivid remembrance of the
dead and gone rector of Vanedene,
suggested to his daughter that it was
impossible she could believe, really be-
lieve, that she had parted with him
forever when she saw him laid in the
narrow house where we shall all lie
some day.
my father was very good man,"
said Mrs. Eustace Vane quietly. HE
served his day and genraton faithfully
his good acts will spread in ever
widening circles down the reverend
ing ages of eternity. On his grave
stone is written: "His works do follow
him."
You have actually quoted the book
you profess to disbelieve!' cried her
friend.
Il acknowledge much of its wisdom"
said Mrs. Eustace Vane, with her SUI
perior smle-and after that her friend
gave it up.
However, in spite of their heathenish
life, they were very much sought after
by the Garthampton people. They
were intensely respectable. Eustace
Vane would as soon have thought of
making hole in the river Garth as of
telling lie or breaking faith with the
very poorest of his tenants. They
Aever quarrelled with each other; their
servants remained with them for much
longer periods than is usual in these
days of change, and when they did leave
they never accused their master and
mistress of drinking. rs is the ordinary |